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SCRANTON, Pa. (CNS) -- Bishop Joseph F. Martino of Scranton has decreed the suppression of the Society of St. John, citing its financial instability, its failure to follow church law and the scandal caused by allegations of sexual molestation of minors by two of its founders. The society has caused "grievous financial burdens for the diocese" that could amount to several million dollars, he said. Priests who had left a schismatic traditionalist organization, the Society of St. Pius X, to return to the Catholic Church, established the Society of St. John in 1998. They received canonical authorization for the society...

For those that are interested Dr. Tim Staples is hosting a discussion of traditionalism on EWTN on his show "Reasons for Faith.. I spoke with him today, although not on air.The next broadcast (repeat of today's show, now over) will be at 4am EST tomorrow (Wed 12/1). He says he'll be on the topic for "at least a couple weeks"

“What’s wrong with the New Mass? I like the Old Mass and know it is better, but don’t know how to explain this to my children, who prefer the Novus Ordo because they say they understand it better.” This was a question Jan put to me. Let me begin my response with a revealing statistic that shows that the New Mass is not easier to understand. In a recent article in Our Sunday Visitor, Russell Shaw draws attention to a serious problem: Mass attendance has halved in the last four decades since Vatican II. (1) How can this be, he...

St. John Cantius Church in ChicagoOn April 19, Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit announced to his Presbyteral Council that beginning next fall the Tridentine (also known as the Traditional Latin Mass) will be celebrated in the Archdiocese. This will take place in perhaps two parishes. The frequency of these Masses has yet to be determined.While a few Council members expressed some reservations, there was a general acceptance of the Cardinal’s decision.One of the chief concerns voiced was that those who will the celebrate the Tridentine Mass and those who will participate in it must also accept as valid the Novus...

Several readers asked about my comments on the new instruction "Redemptionis Sacramentum," especially about the rights of the priest to celebrate Mass in Latin. The instruction states in No. 112: "Mass is celebrated either in Latin or in another language, provided that liturgical texts are used which have been approved according to the norm of law. Except in the case of celebrations of the Mass that are scheduled by the ecclesiastical authorities to take place in the language of the people, Priests are always and everywhere permitted to celebrate Mass in Latin." This right refers, of course, to celebrating according...

ROME, JUNE 1, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University. Q: 1) Is the crucifix essential to the celebration of the Mass? 2) When the priest comes to the altar, does he bow toward the altar? At the end of Mass, the priest venerates the altar; does he bows toward the crucifix or the tabernacle? 3) During the consecration prayer ("Take this ...") the concelebrants extend their hands, but they do not do this uniformly. Some extend the hand with palm downward, while others extend it with palm open toward the...

A draft translation of the new Mass in English is available here in the form of jpeg images. Each image contains one page of the Liturgy in Latin and in English. Click on the links below and images will open in a new window. You may need to scroll to view all of the image. Close the window after viewing and choose the next image in the list. Go to page http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/relrpt/liturgy.htm

Priests, wired for sound at Mass, are no longer supposed to work their audiences like talk-show hosts. Lectors must pause between Scripture readings, allowing time for meditation. And parishioners shouldn't genuflect or make the sign of the cross when receiving the Eucharist. From now on, a simple head bow is proper. The latest tweaking of Roman Catholic rules, gestures and postures is keeping people on their toes, according to Archbishop Michael Sheehan. "A little movement keeps them awake," says the archbishop with a chuckle. Sheehan uses humor to make a serious point: Catholics worldwide are learning about the church's revisions...

Worse Than Deja Vu All Over Again: Vatican caves on meaningful reform of disastrous New Mass Thomas A. Droleskey, Ph.D. “Certainly, we will preserve the basic elements, the bread, the wine, but all else will be changed according to local traditions: words, gestures, colors, vestments, chants, architecture, decor. The problem of liturgical reform is immense.” --Pope John Paul, while still Bishop of Krakow, as quoted in Mon Ami: Karol Wojtyla. P. 220 When last we left the saga of the Novus Ordo Missae, Pope John Paul II promised Catholics worldwide that a new set of instructions to correct liturgical abuses...

By necessity, parish director is ‘jack of all trades’ Daryl Olszewski is spiritual leader of parish without a full-time priest By Candy Czernicki Catholic Herald Staff A TEACHABLE MOMENT — St. Paul first grader Jacob Nook, age 7, listens intently as parish director Daryl Olszewski speaks to him. Education is one component of a parish director’s job. (Catholic Herald photos by James Pearson) MILWAUKEE — Daryl Olszewski is a jack of all trades and master of pretty much all of them, too. It’s his job, you see. Olszewski has been parish director at St. Paul Parish in Milwaukee for the...

The Construction of the New Mass Some Funny Things Happened Near the Roman Forum: Part II by Romano Tommasi - Summer 2002 In my previous article, I attempted to expose a number of seeming contradictions in the decision-making process of the Consilium (the group of scholars commissioned by Paul VI to reform the liturgy). In this present article I will investigate other specific areas of the so-called “reform.” Recall that the Consilium purported to restore ancient practices which had, “by an accident of history” or other unknown reasons, fallen into disuse.1 Using the Consilium’s own fundamental principles of “substantial uniformity”...

Revolutionaries hate everything about the past, which is why they must resort to physical violence against people and property so as to wipe out all traces of the past, to say nothing of teaching any possible counter-revolutionaries a lesson or two about what might befall then and their families and their property if they stand up to the inexorable march of the evolutionary forces of progress. The first real modern revolution was the Protestant Revolution (whose path was certainly made possible by the sophistries and lies of pretended “philosophers” in the Renaissance), which was a violent and bloody assault upon...

Everybody likes Mel Gibson. He’s an award-winning actor, he’s box-office gold and he seems like a nice guy. But because of his fame and The Passion, his forthcoming movie about Christ, a lot of his fans would like to be clear on where he stands with respect to the Catholic Church, a Dallas-based author says. Kevin Orlin Johnson, Ph.D., is an associate of the Canon Law Society of America and a best-selling writer whose book Rosary: Mysteries, Meditations, and the Telling of the Beads includes one of the most graphic accounts of the Crucifixion ever published. He’ll definitely see...

Q: Is it OK for the priest to come down during the peace offering to shake hands with the congregation? I hear this is wrong and I'd really like to know if it is or not since it makes me uneasy about our doing something inappropriate. -- I.S., San Ysidro, California A: The new General Instruction on the Roman Missal (GIRM), with approved adaptations for the United States, refers to this question in No. 154: "The priest may give the sign of peace to the ministers but always remains within the sanctuary, so as not to disturb the celebration. In...

Many of us take refuge in the Tridentine Mass to get away from many of the sometimes abused practices found in the Novus Order (Communion in the hand, giggling altar girls, armies of Eucharistic Ministers storming the altar, laughably bad hymns). Why on earth would anyone go to the Tridentine Mass and demand to receive Communion in the hand (an agenda perhaps)? They can go anywhere at anytime to a plethora of Novus Order Masses and boogie in the aisles with the liturgical dancers if they choose. We accept that. We may be lucky to have only one Sunday Tridentine...

Forty years on, we are only just beginning to understand the significance of the Council, says Fr Ian Ker. And we are still a long way from implementing it It is 40 years since the opening of the Second Vatican Council. The Council was convoked by Pope John XXIII for two purposes: the renewal or aggiornamento of the Catholic Church and Christian reunion - two goals which are surely integrally related. The Pope expressed the hope that it would be the beginning of a new Pentecost for the Church. There have, indeed, been substantial achievements. A nineteenth century Catholic would...

Dear Madame, You are asking me for my opinion on the recent letter of the month of June from the Dominicans of Avrillé to their friends and benefactors. I just became aware of it in my faraway Canada. I will gladly share it with you and in a straightforward manner. One part of the letter is consecrated to the last encyclical of the Holy Father on the Eucharist: Ecclesia de Eucharistia. You know already that I have studied it in depth, as so many of my confreres have done as well, a good census, such as Father Hery, Father de...

We have many inestimable treasures made available to us through Holy Church. Our Lord instituted the sacerdotal priesthood at the Last Supper so as to channel forth in the sacraments the graces He would win for us by the shedding of His Most Precious Blood on the wood of the Holy Cross. Most especially, obviously, men ordained to the priesthood have the great privilege of enfleshing Our Lord under the species of bread and wine in the Most Blessed Sacrament every time they celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Mere men are given the ability to speak ordinary words,...

<p>Worshipers read biblical lessons in Spanish, French and English -- the three languages spoken on the Caribbean islands.</p> <p>No matter the language or music, the message was clear at the 13th annual Caribbean Mass.</p> <p>“We all come from different roots,” said Heide Parreno of Rochester.</p>

3. Levels of Abuse - Invalid and IllicitBefore getting into the specific abuses, it is important to understand the rules for celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. These rules are officially called rubrics. These rubrics are contained in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM)[1], and many clarifications have been made in more recent documents such as Instruction Concerning Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery (Inaestimabile Donum). The most serious type of abuse makes the Mass "invalid." For a Mass to be invalid, the Consecration of the Eucharist does not occur. Going to an invalid Mass is like not...